Quote:
Originally Posted by The Flying Mouse
Non smokers do have the right to be able to go for a beer or a meal without suffering second hand smoke.
That is a given.
But I argue that smokers have that same right.
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But the big difference here is that smoking in a pub is bothering non smokers big time, but is non-smoking bothering smokers?
So you have to decide who's right to express their personality is more important.
A little different view on this:
Over here the smoking ban in countries as the UK is always mentioned as a good example.
Because it is strict and doesnt allow exceptions (as far as i know).
While here it is completely different: For one or two years the government is trying to establish a smoking ban.
1st problem: we have 16 states, and this is somethning that has to be decided by the state-government (right word?), so you have 16 different laws on smoking in bars and pubs, some strict, some without any ban and a lot in the middle.
2nd problem: Theres a lot of bars complaining that they would run out of business if a smoking ban was established, especially the small ones who cant afford to build a seperate smoking room. So there is a lot of discussion going on for this, before the government will decide what to do.
3rd problem: there are many exceptions to the rule, the biggest that's debated right now is the Oktoberfest, which's organizers are also afraid that they will lose a lot of money if a smoking ban is established.
4th problem: Among the smokers the ban isnt really popular (of curse), and there are upcoming elections in a few states, so you have it, for example, in Bavaria, that the biggest party is promising the cancel the smoking ban again, just to get better election results.
So all in all you have a system that's different in every other city, and people from other countries most of the time dont even know if theyre allowed to smoke or not. And not even the status quo is safe, as the non-smoking-laws keep being changed all the time.
And from this point of view id rather like to see a strict smoking ban like in the UK.